Kashmir - Etimologia

The Nilamata Purana describes the Valley’s origin from the waters; का Ka (“water”) + शिमिरि Shimir (“to desiccate”), hence, Kaashmir denotes “a land desiccated from water”. An alternate nominal origin theory proposes that Kaashmir is a contraction of either Kashyap-mira or Kashyapmir or Kashyapmeru, denoting the “sea of Kashyapa” and the “mountain of Kashyapa”, eponyms of Kashyapa, the sage credited with having drained the primordial Satisar lake that occupied the Kaashmir valley before he reclaimed it from the water. Considering the Valley an embodiment of the goddess Uma, the Nilamata Purana gives it the place-name Kaashmira, from which derives the contemporary Kashmir place-name. Nonetheless, the Kaashmiris colloquially use the place-name Kashir, which is phonetically derived from Kaashmir, as noted in the Aurel Stein introduction to the Rajatarangini metrical chronicle.

In the Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana in the 12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kaashmir was formerly a lake. This was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). Cashmere is a variant spelling of Kaashmir.

General view of Temple and Enclosure of Marttand (the Sun), at Bhawan, ca. A.D. 490–555; the colonnade ca. A.D. 693–729. Surya Temple at Martand, Jammu & Kashmir, photographed by John Burke, 1868.

Fonte: Wikipédia